Judy Garland, who played Dorothy Gale in the 1939 Hollywood classic The Wizard of Oz, was born Frances Ethel Gumm on June 10, 1922 in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. One-half inch shy of 5′ tall, the 17-year-old actress had to have her budding breasts strapped down to make her look like a 13-year-old in the movie. Not only was she a film heroine to the Munchkins, in later life Garland became an enduring icon in the gay community. In the decades before the LGBTQ movement, gay men referred to themselves as “Friends of Dorothy.” Read more about the movie and Judy Garland in A Brain. A Heart. The Nerve. (see NOVELS).
